This invention relates to apparatus which is used in an operating room. More particularly it relates to ring stands and ring stand basins.
Ring stand basins, which are normally made of stainless steel, are used by surgeons and other operating room personnel to remove blood and other bodily fluids from instruments during a surgical procedure. During use the basin is partially filled with a sterile saline solution. The stainless steel basin is received in a ring stand. The ring stand is also normally made of stainless steel and includes a ring through which the basin is received and four legs which are attached to the ring. The legs elevate the ring, and thus the basin, to a level where it may be used by the surgical personnel.
The basin must be sterilized after each use, however the ring stand is not normally sterilized after each use. Therefore a drape which is referred to as CSR wrap is placed between the bottom of the basin and the ring stand. The CSR wrap is of sufficient size so as to cover the legs of the ring stand thereby maintaining a sterile field around the ring stand. One example of such a ring stand basin/CSR wrap setup is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,047 issued to Valentine.
A surgical basin is normally 13" in diameter and 4" deep and thus is a substantially large item to be sterilized. Normally sterilization costs are measured by the volume of the apparatus which is sterilized. Thus it is expensive to sterilize bulky items such as basins after each usage. In addition, CSR wrap is not an inexpensive item often costing 50.cent. per sheet.
In order to alleviate the need to sterilize the stainless steel ring basin, disposable plastic basins have been substituted for the stainless steel ring basin. While the cost of sterilizing the stainless steel basin is saved, the plastic basins are expensive, normally costing approximately $2.00 to $2.50 each in a sterile pack, which includes CSR wrap. The plastic basin must be a rather sturdy and substantial device to hold the saline and thick enough to inhibit sharp instruments from puncturing the plastic. If the plastic basin is punctured, liquids from the basin would spill to the operating room floor creating a hazard during the surgical procedure. In addition, because of the size of the plastic basin/CSR pack, sterilization, shipping, storage and disposal costs are high. Thus it is desirable to have a ring stand basin setup which overcomes the problems set forth above.